The present invention relates to a system for providing television schedule information, and more particularly to a television schedule information guide with capability for displaying channel promotion information.
The number of television channels available to a user has grown dramatically within the last decade, primarily due to the availability of cable and direct broadcast satellite systems. As the number of programs of potential interest to the viewer has increased, a variety of electronic program guides (EPGs) have been developed to help the viewer select programs of particular interest. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,706,121 and 5,353,121 each describes schedule information processing systems which provide the viewer with a convenient way to select programs based on viewer supplied selection criteria.
A viewer, however, has access to the numerous channels available through cable or satellite systems only if the viewer subscribes to those services. This is because cable and direct satellite services scramble their signals thereby allowing only a selected group of people who have pre-arranged de-scrambling capabilities to receive their signals. A viewer with a television system that does not include such de-scrambling capabilities has access to only broadcast television programs. Occasionally, however, a cable or direct satellite service provider will unscramble its signals for a particular time period to allow all viewers in a given area to have access to the signals. For example, HBO may have a free movie night for subscribers and non-subscribers of HBO in Fremont, Calif. In this manner, HBO could show potential subscribers in Fremont, Calif., a flavor of the programming it has available, and may attract some of the non-subscribers in Fremont to sign up with its service. A viewer will also benefit from such promotions, as the viewer is given a free trial of the subscription. Hence, a television schedule system that has the capability to detect that a program is unscrambled, and in turn notify the user that such program is available for selection would be desirable.